2013 Obits – November

November 30: Paul William Walker IV, 40 – killed in a one-car crash with his publicist, Roger Rodas. The Porsche crashed into a light pole and tree and burst into flames. The downed light pole had a speed limit sign of 45 mph. Walker had been in Valencia, CA for a fundraiser benefitting victims of the recent typhoon in the Philippines. He began acting when he was young, appearing in TV commercials. In 1987 he played Prof. Bennet in Monster in the Closet. He starred in the TV series, Throb, and made guest appearances in Charles in Charge, Highway to Heaven, Who’s the Boss, Diff’rent Strokes. He also had a role in The Young and the Restless. He majored in Marine Biology at a California community college prior to getting into acting.

November 23: Jay Leggett, 50 – Comedic actor and one-time Chicago improviser collapsed and died of natural causes after a day of deer hunting in Lincoln County, Wisconsin.

November 20: Sylvia Browne, 77 – psychic medium, author, Sylvia Browne made appearances on Larry King Live and Unsolved Mysteries. According to her son, Chris, Ms. Browne passed away surrounded by her friends and family. Montel Williams was one to publicly express sympathy over Browne’s death while calling her “a beacon that shined for so many.” She is survived by her husband, two sons and three grandchildren.

November 20: Joseph Paul Franklin, 63 – American serial killer, executed by lethal injection who, as a white supremacist claimed he was “doing the will of God” will now meet his maker. His execution was delayed for hours because of court appeals but he was administered a lethal injection at 6:07am CT and died minutes later. He admitted to the attempted assassination of Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt in 1978 and civil rights leader Vernon Jordan in 1980. Flynt, who was paralyzed by Franklin’s bullet, called for clemency for Franklin, saying “the government has no business at all being in the business of killing people.”

November 19: Diane Disney Miller, 79 – American philanthropist and only biological daughter of Walt Disney, died from complications from a fall she took in September.